Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Gotham Shocker: Batman Dead!

First the economy crumbles and then they kill Batman? What the heck is going on?

ByJohn Capone

If the rumor mill is correct (and by rumor mill we mean the DC Comics marketing department) Bruce Wayne will be killed in an upcoming Batman comic. And it won't be pretty.

Batman Through the Years

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Batman and his rivals through the years.

The Telegraph (UK) confirmed the death in an interview with Grant Morrison, the Scottish writer who has been steering the Batman series since 2006. Morrison told the trade Comic Book Resources:

"What I am doing is a fate worse than death, things that no one would expect to happen to these guys at all."

Comic book companies, like record labels, have found that the death of a big star is great for sales. When Superman was killed by Doomsday in 1992, DC saw a Cobain-like surge in sales, and the issue was the best-selling in franchise history. However, unlike Biggie Smalls (but very much like Tupac) the character was resurrected. Captain America saw a similar bump after a sniper shot him down in New York last year.

From the sound of things, it seems like the Dark Knight is really in for it in the Batman Comic that comes out tomorrow. At least this will explain the lines outside Forbidden Planet. Stay tuned. Same bat time; same bat channel.